1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a primary plastic pan assembly for use in conjunction with air conditioning installations and refrigeration systems and more particularly, to a plastic primary pan assembled with an U-shaped supporting bracket which is mounted to a fan cover and a motor.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Primary pans are generally known to be utilized with air conditioning systems. Conventional devices utilize a primary pan made of steel which is directly mounted to a fan cover and a motor. However, these devices suffer from a number of problems such as, for example, the problem that metallic primary pans eventually become rusted and plug up outlets for draining water from the pan. Further, it is difficult for the pan to support the air condition system such as the motor and the pan cover, because of the additional weight caused by the metal pan, so that the motor cannot be used for a long time. It is also very difficult for the primary pans to separate from such devices because the structure is very complicated and device has a heavy weight.
In order to avoid such problems, U.S. Pat. No. 4,597,269, issued to the present inventor, discloses a plastic pan adapted to be mounted to the motor of an air conditioning system which includes a primary pan, a support bracket, height-adjustable brackets, and a motor mount bracket whereby the plastic pan avoids the plugging up of the outlet. However, this primary pan exhibits some problems with regard to convenient and reliable assembling and requires a lot of bolts for installation.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,823,558, issued to the present inventor, discloses a plastic pan assembly for use in air conditioning systems and refrigerators wherein a plastic pan having a raised portion or a rail disposed on the outside surface of the bottom thereof is easily engaged with a channeled supporting bracket. However, this pan assembly requires a large space for working.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,862,704, issued to the present inventor, discloses an improved primary pan for use in an air conditioning system which includes a C-shaped plastic pan having a raised portion or a rail disposed on the outside surface of the bottom thereof, a channeled supporting bracket having a plurality of elongated apertures for engaging the raised portion of the rail of the plastic pan, and a pair of fan covers having a channel disposed on the outside surface of the top and a circumferential raised portion disposed around a lower outlet thereof for effectively mounting to and separating from the supporting bracket to the plastic pan with only two pairs of screws. However, this pan assembly does not disclose the use of an U-shaped supporting bracket for easily receiving the plastic pan.
The present inventor is also prosecuting still another U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/381,261, filed July 18, 1989, now Pat. No. 4,916,919 which discloses an improved primary pan for use in an air conditioning system wherein a channeled supporting bracket is utilized to tightly engage and effectively support a plastic pan which includes a drain plastic pan and a plastic support plate which contains a C-shaped circumferential portion and a C-shaped extending portion thereof, the channeled supporting bracket having a plurality of elongated apertures being mounted on a motor and a fan cover, whereby the plastic primary pan assembly can be easily associated with and separate from the air conditioning system and easily adjusted to incline the plastic primary pan for drawing condensate water through an outlet disposed in the plastic primary pan. However, this primary pan does not disclose the use of an U-shaped supporting bracket for easily receiving the plastic pan.
The present inventor is also prosecuting a further U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/431,903, filed Nov. 6, 1989, which disclosed a plastic primary pan containing a pair of blind plates having a pair of semi-cylinders, respectively, to be removed one of them from the base primary pan, a pair of rubber packings, and an assembly plate having a pair of semi-cylinders to be inserted into the base primary pan, after taking out one of the pair of blind plates from the base primary pan, assembling with a base primary pan instead of the blind plate so as to pass a pair of built drain pipe therethrough, whereby the plastic primary pan can easily assemble the base primary pan with the assembly plate, the pair of rubber packings, and the pair of drain pipes. However, this pan assembly does not disclose the use of an U-shaped supporting bracket for easily receiving the plastic pan.